Chris Bernheisel Live in the Studio
VIDEO. Plus, Hopeful Misses Cut on Omaha Auditions Show
”American Idol”: Husker Do’s and Don’ts
As American Idol enters the third week of its seventh season, it’s clear the show’s producers have taken into account all the criticism fans and pundits threw their way last year. As my colleague Jessica Shaw and I discuss in the most recent installment of Idolatry, Idol is packing its episodes with successful auditions, and that’s led to a precipitous (and applause-worthy) drop in screen time for elderly ladies in skimpy feathered dresses and dudes in lederhosen. Better still, the judges seem to have steered away from giving wedgies to 50-pound weaklings; I wouldn’t blame Fox execs if they wanted to roll out an end-of-episode tagline declaring, ”No person of diminished mental and/or emotional capacity was harmed in the making of this episode.”
American Idol: Omaha AuditionsTonight’s episode made me happy, which is good because Idol hasn’t been doing that lately. I had resigned myself to another lackluster episode where I’d keep thinking to myself, “I can’t wait until we get to Hollywood.” And I’m watching it and seeing all these good singers and I’m thinking “Wow, Omaha must have really brought it.” But Ryan says only nineteen people made it so what is it? They finally edited it right. More of the good, less back story on the bad and an overall feel-good attitude permeated the episode. And it looked like everyone from the contestants to the judges and even Ryan were genuinely having a good time. Now that I think about it, no one ranted and raved and bitched about not getting through either. Midwestern people are nicer! And it made for a nicer show to watch. Food for thought…
Nice guys (and girls) finish first on ‘Idol’
The most successful “American Idol” champion of recent vintage is Carrie Underwood, a girl from small-town Oklahoma who grew to become a country music superstar. Looking to recapture that dynamic after two lackluster champions in a row, the “Idol” producers went to Omaha, Nebraska, hoping for another dose of Midwest magic.
Time will tell whether any of the 19 hopefuls who advanced can follow in Underwood’s footsteps, but it’s clear that the show is giving them every chance. Virtually the entire hour on Tuesday’s show was focused on the success stories, with all of the wholesome goodness a cynical city-dweller would expect from farm country.
Reality Check: On ‘Idol,’ It Was Sweet Home Nebraska
We’re in our third week of auditions, and while you’d think this would mean it’s high time for some meltdowns and harsh words, sweetness was actually the most consistent sentiment on display.
And I’m not talking about the people who auditioned — though some of them were undeniably precious.
I’m actually referring to the judges.
‘American Idol’ Omaha auditions
Somehow I can’t shake the feeling that the best moment from Tuesday (Jan. 29) night’s American Idol auditions from Omaha came when one contestant, having made it through to Hollywood despite a “No” vote from Simon, stared into the camera and declared, “I can’t wait to prove Simon wrong, that I am America’s Next Top Model.”
Excellent.
Zap2it
AI Omaha: Impressive Guys, Odd Ladies, Funny Seacrest
And since I don’t usually find Ryan Seacrest that amusing, you know that Omaha was one weird audition city. The joke auditions went on too long, the supposedly impressive singers weren’t quite as impressive as they were supposed to be, and Seacrest switched places with Paula…and sort of knew what he was talking about!
“How do I…be overpaid for doing no work?” Ryan joked as he settled into Paula’s chair. One could argue that he’s perfected that in his hosting duties, but I was enjoying the guy for the first time in years, so I was willing to leave him alone. This once.
Jitters force Abdul to pretape Super Bowl gig
Stage jitters, nerves and bad memories of past shows are keeping Paula Abdul from performing live during Super Bowl XLII — not technical difficulties, as the production would like you to think, reports OK! magazine.
The resurrected singer and “American Idol” judge will unveil her new single, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow,” in a video segment that was taped before a studio audience Jan. 27. Fellow “Idol” judge Randy Jackson will also appear in the production, set to air Feb. 3 during pregame coverage from Glendale, Ariz.
This Looks Like It Could Be Good
Click here to watch a behind the scenes preview of Paula Abdul’s new music video!
‘Idol’ doesn’t seem to be looking for fresh talent
As has now been well-documented online, “American Idol 7″ is stocked with people who’ve already proven they have talent. The rules for the show only prevent auditioning contestants from having current recording contracts or managers, so their presence is acceptable, if questionable.
Working from a list of the Hollywood round’s top 50 contestants, and later the top 24 semi-finalists, the site Vote for the Worst revealed that many of those who advance in the competition aren’t exactly amateurs.
Why Do Some ‘American Idol’ Stars Succeed While Others Disappear?
Did you ever notice how some contestants who win American Idol seem to fall off the face of the planet after the season is over? Then there are other “Idol” winners who become huge successes. So why does this happen?
Sal Paolantonio Has No Time for Kellie Pickler’s Foolishness
One of the many reasons that Super Bowl media day is an ultimately useless exercise is that the late-night talk shows descend on media day with their roving correspondents, people who don’t ask anything interesting but hope they can elicit something funny.
One person who was trying to elicit something funny — and failing, from what I saw — was Kellie Pickler, a former American Idol contestant who was at media day in her role as a Tonight Show correspondent. Pickler was very excited that Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi knew who she was, but her attempts at being cute and getting the players to open up to her fell short.
AOL Sports
Strahan Will ‘Picture Tom Brady In Red High Heels’
Kellie Pickler, of American Idol “fame,” was all over Media Day today. Because attention is like crack rock to her, she agreed to act a fool for the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During the Pats part of the Day, she was going up to players, attempting to get them to do their end zone dance. Zany! Not surprisingly, none of them obliged.
So when the Giants came out, she apparently decided to change strategies in order to gain some “quality” material for Leno. Wrapping her legs around a player’s head, frantically waving her hands and yelling at Michael Strahan might just be the video Leno is looking for. Either way, it was entertaining. And obnoxious:
Pats not ready to grieve
Media day was its typical circus, with a Spanish-speaking woman in a short-cut bridal gown proposing to pretty much every player on the roster and Kellie Pickler (I had no idea who she was) standing on Brandon London’s shoulders to get Michael Strahan’s attention long enough to ask a question and give him her CD.
David Hyde Pierce Has Neither Advice for Clay Aiken Nor Patience for Us
So what does Curtains star David Hyde Pierce think of Clay Aiken, who’s taking over his memorable role in Spamalot? We asked him last night outside the Rainbow Room, before he joined Sutton Foster and husband-wife team of singer Jessica Molaskey and jazz musician John Pizzarelli in a cabaret performance at a benefit dinner for Manhattan Theatre Club. Is DHP a Claymate? Had he seen Aiken in the role yet? No, he hadn’t, he said, a little bit chilly in a very Niles Crane kind of way. And he very likely wouldn’t, because they performed at exactly the same times. Would sassy, brassy Gotham knock the aw-shucksness out of Clay, as suggested by Ariel Levy’s furiously debated profile in this week’s New York? “To be honest, I don’t know him that well,” said DHP, retreating into an ever chillier, Waspier internal sarcophagus, “so I don’t know about his aw-shucksness.”
Carrie Underwood piles on more shows
Carrie Underwood [ tickets ] has thrown a heap of new headlining dates on top of an itinerary already piled high with a mix of solo shows and co-headlining performances with fellow country star Keith Urban [ tickets ].
Underwood, whose tour with Urban launches Thursday (1/31), has now tucked into the mix a dozen new March and April solo stops that are scattered throughout the Midwest, Northeast and Canada, and complement a previously announced February batch of solo dates. Details for her headlining dates and dual-billed performances with Urban are included below
Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood on 2008 Grammy CD
Vince Gill and Carrie Underwood are among the artists featured on the 2008 Grammy Nominees CD, released Tuesday (Jan. 29). Gill’s “What You Give Away,” which features Sheryl Crow, represents his album of the year nomination. Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” is nominated for song of the year. Other musicians on the CD include Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Bon Jovi, Daughtry, Feist, Foo Fighters, Nelly Furtado, Green Day, Herbie Hancock, Maroon 5, Paul McCartney, Nickelback, Plain White T’s, Corinne Bailey Rae, Justin Timberlake, U2, Kanye West, the White Stripes and Amy Winehouse.
American Idle: Confessions of a Hollywood Week Failure
***Note from the Editor: As we gather around our TV’s as a nation for the seventh season of American Idol, it’s easy to start looking at the whole show as a big circus act and forget that real dreams are made and broken for our entertainment. Another week’s worth of recaps ridiculing the sad sacks who offer their pride up for our consumption is on the way, and in the meantime we thought it only fair to present to you a real story of love and loss to balance out the general crappy attitude we here at TVgasm have towards, well, everything. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm round of applause (whether you mean it or not), for our very own Nick the Intern.
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Kellie picklers “cute. diztz ” may work well for American Idol and other shows but not well for sports events even if it is for Jay Leno.. Serious sports fans do not want cute and she is a an annoyance as why she is thier . They sports writers thought it was bad for MTV to be thier also get people who understand it and not people for publicity hounds or a joke. I know most will think how funny or cute
Pickler was upstages by a repoter in a wedding dress at least she got in the news .
That “article” about why some American Idol winners succeed and others not so much was so bereft of content that the comments were more educational than the article. C’mon Ms. Burke, at least pretend to put forth a little effort.
Last nights show was good and I really hope that Leo Marlowe gets a chance at stardom — he’s one of the most likeable fellows (who can sing) that they’ve had on in a long time. Of course, we all know that likeable is the kiss of death unless you are the chosen one.
Lots of good stuff including David Cook (who outdoes Michael Lee as resident rocker IMO), happy Simon, more of the good singers (less of the bad), and a good small dose of loopy Paula.
I thought that too. I almost didn’t post it. But, I thought it might make a good jumping off point for conversation.
I’ll bet she got paid for that. :(.
Damn, I could write a better article. I am so tired of this Fantasia, Ruben and Taylor as failures BS. Fantasia left the Color Purple and it is closing. She was/is a Grammy Nominee, as was Ruben. He happens to be preparing to begin a nationwide tour of Ain’t Misbehaving and had two high charting songs on the radio last year. I guess urban AC doesn’t count. That is why both he and Fantasia are discounted because urban AC is the bastard child of radio. Taylor toured for the better part of the year and had for the most part positive reviews across the board. Truthfully the true musicians rarely win that show, so when they do win and aren’t as received by the masses they are deemed failures. Anybody telling me that Clay’s first record was fundamentally better than Ruben’s or Fantasia’s or even Taylor’s would have an argument on their hands. The critics thought so as well.
As for Leo from last night’s show, he is my fave so far. He’s got personality and a good solid voice. Let the games begin. Oh btw, the show was quite enjoyable last night. They remind me why I really do like the judges, Ryan, and the show itself so much.
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‘House’ and ‘Idol’ sweep night for Fox
“Idol” averaged an 11.0 adults 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, and “House” posted a season-high 8.6. Together, the two averaged a 9.8 rating on the night, 31 percent ahead of the 7.5 average for the other Big Five networks combined.
Still, while dominant, “Idol” and “House” were off 20 percent from the same week last year, when they combined for a 12.3 rating.
I thought it was going to be quite a bit lower due to the Florida primaries. Interesting to see what if any impact Super Tuesday will have.
OK, I’m going through withdrawal. Not only did my DVR blow up the other night after a power outage, I went to watch the show in real time last night in my bedroom and the satellite couldn’t get a signal for Fox. I feel like my Idol “stars” are definitely not in alignment this week - first the Pauler fiasco, now this.
The only audition I was able to watch was David Cook’s. I liked him pretty well but did not enjoy his voice as much as I like Chris D’s *ducks under desk now*, who he is obviously trying to be compared to. We shall see.
ETA: Anybody know of any bars/restaurants that show Idol? Afraid tonight is going to be like last night.
Any ideas on where I can see clips of the others?
Carie, look in last night’s Omaha thread. There’s a link to download full episodes. I’m not sure where to view them online. They may show up on youtube eventually.
CarieB
You can go Idolforums and they have the complete epositdes.
episodes. Sorry.
Thank you PJ and Jeannie. Cold sweats abating now.
Same here. I think he cheated a little bit because he sang it so sloooowly. You can’t do that in the live show. OTOH, Chris did his song in full speed with power. Funny that he said he studied Chris’ audition. Maybe that’s why he decided to go slow? We shall see. He needs to do something to stand out from rocker crowd this year.
How is that a cheat? I think it’s actually harder to sound good while singing sloooooowly. You have to be able to sing in tune and stay in tune while keeping it interesting (most people bend the note a little to add variety while holding it). Singing fast is a cheat because it barely has time to register that your were out of tune. The only thing that it proves is that you don’t trip over your words (and you can read “Fox in Socks” if you want to prove that). Try it at home folks: Sing a song faster than normal then try singing it slower than normal. Which is harder?
It’s an honest question. I wish to be enlightened. Why would singing slow be a “cheat”? I’d attribute it to being a stylistic choice, myself, but I’d be interested in learning something new.
Since everybody was talking about it, I watched David’s audition on youtube. He seems fine, but he needs a hair style intervention, stat! It’s like he threw 5 styling ideas into a hat and came up with a Frankenstein version of a do. It’s actualy a little distracting.
I also watched the Norah audition. Ryan actually had constructive advice to give to her. No wonder Randy and Simon were so outraged. Doesn’t Ryan know that you are supposed to just voice random words: “17!!!!! DAWG”, “I can see the beauty inside you that floats and swims”, “You sound like a Bulgarian mud wrestler in Tanzanian drag bar”. No helpful advice allowed, Ryan.
NO SPOILERS in the thread, please. Some peeps want to be surprised. Thank you.
Poor Ruben’s troubles continue.
http://www.tmz.com/2008/01/30/studdard-sues-not-everything-peachy-keen/#comments
Last night’s audition was the best one that I have ever seen and they actually showed more people who got the golden ticket than they normally do. I am hoping this is a change that will continue into tonight’s show. I have really gotten tired of loonies and acerbic people who mouth off at the judges at every given opportunity. Simon is doing a good job of controlling his temper this year and I was glad to see a polite and respectful bunch of “kids” for a change.
I still think singing fast in tune and with clear enunciation is much harder to do. Kind of like play-by-play sportscasting. You have to speak fast and clearly, well, except golf, I guess. That’s why they are highly-paid professionals. Same with news broadcasting. JMHO.
Here is Entertainment Week’s List of the best 12 Auditions in American Idol History ( thus far ) :
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20007164_20008532_20174767_11,00.html
Thanks for the explanation. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. I see sportscasting as being worlds away from singing. It’s like saying somebody who takes short hand is better than somebody who does calligraphy. Somebody who doodles is better than Rembrandt. Somebody who can polka is better than somebody who does ballet. They might be better, but the mere fact they do it faster isn’t the reason.
Let’s compare to figure skating. It is difficult to move your feet fast across the ice and they do give points for that (provided your movements are crisp). But it is also difficult to hold a pose for the length of the ice without wobbling and falling over. So, they give points for that too. In fact, holding a pose (across the ice and during spins) are so important, they are required elements.
Sure singing fast and in-tune is difficult, but singing slowly isn’t easy either. When you hold a note, you have to demonstrate great control. It allows the audience to examine the beauty of the note. Now, some people hate that style of singing and that’s fine. We all have our preferences. But it does take technical skill to hold a note, so I don’t see it as a cheat.
So again, just agreeing to disagree.
I liked David Cook, but if I was forced to choose between him and Michael Johns, I’d pick Michael, at least based on their auditions.
I don’t think slowing the song down was “cheating” so to speak, but it did make the performance a bit awkward, at least for me.
I’m not sure if anyone really cares, or if this has been said, but “Livin on a Prayer” has two versions to it. Bon Jovi has the fast and slow version. The slow version was created for some charity. David chose to sing that song version. :)
I actually agree with these. Good choices, all.
The acoustic/slow version of Livin on a Prayer was sung by Bon Jovi with Richie Sambora for the 9/11 Tribute to Heroes. I actually like the acoustic version better than the original - but I’m not a big Bon Jovi fan to begin with - heresy I know given my state of residence.
http://media.podshow.com/media/1434/episodes/96754/digivegaspodcast-96754-01-28-2008_pshow_224934.mp3
Interview with the Clark Brothers!!!!!
Lots of fotos of Jordin, Chris R, Melinda and Sanjaya at Jordin’s AZ pre-Super Bowl party..
http://media.myfoxboston.com/galleries/08/JordinSparksCharityEvent/index.htm
Late to this convo, but… I certainly would never call singing slowly cheating. That seems a bit much, considering the context. Certainly, there are times that it might be as difficult (or more) to sing a fast, rhythmically challenging song as opposed to a power ballad (see Sparks, Jordin). However, I do not consider “Living on a Prayer” a rhythmically challenging song. I agree the arrangement David C sang was a bit more challenging than the original.
Still not a fan. Yet. I’m keeping my options open. :)